Internship: Historical Iowa Civil Rights Network Collection and Archival Intern
The Historical Iowa Civil Rights Network (HICRN – The Historical Iowa Civil Rights Network (uiowa.edu)) is a consortium of repositories that house research collections pertaining to the twentieth century African American civil rights movement in Iowa. Its website is maintained by the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio of the University of Iowa Libraries, and interested individuals from across Iowa have contributed information to the project to be shared with the research community. HICRN is also on Facebook: Historical Iowa Civil Rights Network – Home | Facebook
Despite the participation of about a dozen repositories to date, however, there remain a great number of “hidden” collections across the state pertaining to civil rights at repositories that have not yet been contacted by the project. These are for the most part community and county-based local historical societies that are run primarily – if not exclusively – by volunteers. These local museums and archives generally do not participate in RLIN, ArchiveFinder, or other data-sharing utilities, nor do their websites typically offer collection-level descriptions of their holdings. Researchers instead are more likely to learn about these undescribed resources by word of mouth or by contacting a knowledgeable volunteer directly.
Under the leadership of UI Special Collections, HICRN seeks an intern to help to fill this void.
Key Responsibilities:
- Surveying organizations and seeking out collection-level and other holdings descriptions
- Producing an expanded database or narrative on HICRN’s website
Desired Skills & Qualifications:
- Familiarity with archival work
- Ability to make “cold calls” and meet with a variety of stakeholders
- Interest in the history of social justice in Iowa
- Dedication to the scholarship of historically marginalized communities
- Excellent research and communication skills
Supervisor: David McCartney, University Archivist
uihumanitiesforthepublicgood.com 